Bodhisattvas

picture info	Bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools as well as modern Theravada Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( Pali: ''bodhisatta'') refers to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will be so. In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has generated '' bodhicitta'', a spontaneous wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. Mahayana bodhisattvas are spiritually heroic persons that work to attain awakening and are driven by a great compassion (''mahakaruṇā''). These beings are exemplified by important spiritual qualities such as the "four divine abodes" ('' brahmaviharas'') of loving-kindness (''metta''), compassion ('' karuṇā''), emp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Mahāyāna ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism (the other being ''Theravāda'' and Vajrayana).Harvey (2013), p. 189. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna Sūtras and their emphasis on the ''bodhisattva'' path and ''Prajñāpāramitā''. '' Vajrayāna'' or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna, which make use of numerous tantric methods considered to be faster and more powerful at achieving Buddhahood by Vajrayānists. "Mahāyāna" also refers to the path of the bodhisattva striving to become a fully awakened Buddha ('' samyaksaṃbuddha'') for the benefit of all sentient beings, and is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism (the other being ''Theravāda'' and Vajrayana).Harvey (2013), p. 189. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna Sūtras and their emphasis on the ''bodhisattva'' path and ''Prajñāpāramitā''. '' Vajrayāna'' or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna, which make use of numerous tantric methods considered to be faster and more powerful at achieving Buddhahood by Vajrayānists. "Mahāyāna" also refers to the path of the bodhisattva striving to become a fully awakened Buddha ('' samyaksaṃbuddha'') for the benefit of all sentient beings, and is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, described, and portrayed in different cultures as either male or female. In East Asian Buddhism, he has evolved into a female form called Guanyin. Etymology The name ''Avalokiteśvara'' combines the verbal prefix ''ava'' "down", ''lokita'', a past participle of the verb ''lok'' "to notice, behold, observe", here used in an active sense; and finally ''īśvara'', "lord", "ruler", "sovereign" or "master". In accordance with sandhi (Sanskrit rules of sound combination), ''a''+''īśvara'' becomes ''eśvara''. Combined, the parts mean "lord who gazes down (at the world)". The word ''loka'' ("world") is absent from the name, but the phrase is implied. It does appear in the Cambodian form of the name, ''Lokesvarak''. The earliest translation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Bodhicitta In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta, ("enlightenment-mind" or "the thought of awakening"), is the mind (citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi), with wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings. Bodhicitta is the defining quality of the Mahayana bodhisattva (a being striving towards Buddhahood) and the act of giving rise to bodhicitta (''bodhicittotpāda)'' is what makes a bodhisattva a bodhisattva. The '' Daśabhūmika Sūtra'' explains that the arising of bodhicitta is the first step in the bodhisattva's career. Etymology Etymologically, the word is a combination of the Sanskrit words bodhi and citta. ''Bodhi'' means "awakening" or "enlightenment". ''Citta'' derives from the Sanskrit root ''cit'', and means "that which is conscious" (i.e., mind or consciousness). ''Bodhicitta'' may be translated as "awakening mind" or "mind of enlightenment". It is also sometimes translated as "the thought of enlightenment." Definition Indian sources The term bodhicitta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Vajrayāna Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring to Buddhist traditions associated with Tantra and "Secret Mantra", which developed in the medieval Indian subcontinent and spread to Tibet, Nepal, other Himalayan states, East Asia, and Mongolia. Vajrayāna practices are connected to specific lineages in Buddhism, through the teachings of lineage holders. Others might generally refer to texts as the Buddhist Tantras. It includes practices that make use of mantras, dharanis, mudras, mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. Traditional Vajrayāna sources say that the tantras and the lineage of Vajrayāna were taught by Śākyamuni Buddha and other figures such as the bodhisattva Vajrapani and Padmasambhava. Contemporary historians of Buddhist studies meanwhile argue tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Plaosan Candi Plaosan, also known as the 'Plaosan Complex', is one of the Buddhist temples located in Bugisan village, Prambanan district, Klaten Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, about to the northeast of the renowned Hindu Prambanan Temple. Candi Plaosan covers an area of with an elevation of above sea level. The Dengok River is located nearby, about away. Candi Plaosan is surrounded by paddy fields along with vegetation such as banana and corn. Historical background Plaosan temple was built in the mid 9th century by Sri Kahulunnan or Pramodhawardhani, the daughter of Samaratungga, descendant of Sailendra Dynasty, and who was married to Rakai Pikatan in the Hindu tradition. The Plaosan complex currently comprises two Buddhist temples, ''Plaosan Lor'' and ''Plaosan Kidul'' The inscriptions and images of Plaosan Lor and Kalasan have raised questions about the origins of complex and the relationships between the images found and the religious complexity of the area when the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Karuṇā ' () is generally translated as compassion or mercy and sometimes as self-compassion or spiritual longing. It is a significant spiritual concept in the Indic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Buddhism is important in all schools of Buddhism. For Theravada Buddhists, dwelling in is a means for attaining a happy present life and heavenly rebirth. For Mahāyāna Buddhists, is a co-requisite for becoming a Bodhisattva. Theravada Buddhism In Theravāda Buddhism, is one of the four "divine abodes" ('' brahmavihāra''), along with loving kindness ( Pāli: '' mettā''), sympathetic joy ('' mudita'') and equanimity ('' upekkha''). In the Pali canon, Gautama Buddha recommends cultivating these four virtuous mental states to both householders and monastics. When one develops these four states, Buddha counsels radiating them in all directions, as in the following stock canonical phrase regarding : Such a practice purifies one's mind, avoids evil-induced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind with observance of Buddhist ethics and meditation. Other widely observed practices include: monasticism; " taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Sentient Beings (Buddhism) In Buddhism, sentient beings are beings with consciousness, sentience, or in some contexts life itself.Getz, Daniel A. (2004). "Sentient beings"; cited in Buswell, Robert E. (2004). ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism''. Volume 2. New York, USA: Macmillan Reference USA. (Volume 2): pp.760 Sentient beings are composed of the five aggregates, or skandhas: matter, sensation, perception, mental formations and consciousness. In the '' Samyutta Nikaya'', the Buddha is recorded as saying that "just as the word 'chariot' exists on the basis of the aggregation of parts, even so the concept of 'being' exists when the five aggregates are available." While distinctions in usage and potential subdivisions or classes of sentient beings vary from one school, teacher, or thinker to another, it principally refers to beings in contrast with buddhahood. That is, sentient beings are characteristically ''not'' enlightened, and are thus confined to the death, rebirth, and dukkha (suffering) characteristic of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Brahmavihara The ''brahmavihārās'' (sublime attitudes, lit. "abodes of brahma") are a series of four Buddhist virtues and the meditation practices made to cultivate them. They are also known as the four immeasurables ( Sanskrit: अप्रमाण, ''apramāṇa'', Pāli: अप्पमञ्ञा, ''appamaññā'') or four infinite minds (Chinese: 四無量心). The ''Brahma-viharas'' are: # loving-kindness or benevolence (maitrī/mettā) # compassion (karuṇā) # empathetic joy (muditā) # equanimity (upekṣā/upekkhā) According to the '' Metta Sutta'', cultivation of the four immeasurables has the power to cause the practitioner to be reborn into a "Brahma realm" (Pāli: ''Brahmaloka''). Etymology and translations * Pāli: ''cattāri brahmavihārā'' * sa, चत्वारो ब्रह्मविहाराः (IAST: ') * , ( Wylie: tshad med bzhi) ''Brahmavihāra'' may be parsed as "Brahma" and "vihāra", which is often rendered into English as "sublime" or "di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Tharpa Publications Tharpa Publications (Sanskrit for "liberation" and pronounced "Tar-pa") is a New York-based "major international and multilingual publisher of Buddhist books" by the Buddhist author and scholar Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. These include basic Buddhist meditation books such as '' The New Meditation Handbook'', books on the Buddhist way of life such as '' Universal Compassion'', books on Buddhist philosophy and psychology such as '' Heart of Wisdom'', and books on Buddhist Tantra. Tharpa Publications is a non-profit corporation that has operated for 25 years and claims to have sold over a million books. Waterhouse adds that the books "are distributed widely and may be seen on the shelves of popular booksellers as well as in university libraries." Kelsang Gyatso To date, Tharpa has published 22 of his books, covering the entire range of Buddha Shakyamuni's Sutra and Tantra teachings. These are in the process of being translated into German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Early Buddhist Schools The early Buddhist schools are those schools into which the Buddhist monastic saṅgha split early in the history of Buddhism. The divisions were originally due to differences in Vinaya and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separation of groups of monks. The original saṅgha split into the first early schools (generally believed to be the Sthavira nikāya and the Mahāsāṃghika) during or after the reign of Aśoka. Later, these first early schools were further divided into schools such as the Sarvāstivādins, the Dharmaguptakas, and the Vibhajyavāda, and ended up numbering 18 or 20 schools according to traditional accounts. The textual material shared by the early schools is often termed the Early Buddhist Texts and these are an important source for understanding their doctrinal similarities and differences. Formation and development The first council According to the scriptures (''Cullavagga'' XI.1 ff), three months after the parini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]